The Ten Commandments of Progressive Christianity

Introduction

Same Wrapper, Different Candy Illustration

Our goal tonight is to unwrap the wrapper and see how this “gospel” that is being given by progressive Christians is actually a different candy bar altogether.

Progressive Christianity offers half-truths…They creep in by stealth and look like sheep on the outside but inside are ravenous wolves.

Jude 1:4 “For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Charles Spurgeon once said, “Discernment is not simply a matter of telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather it is the difference between right and almost right.”

Two characteristics that make up false teachers:

Pervert the grace of God.

Deny Jesus as Master and Lord.

These Ten Commandments of Progressive Christianity inhabit one or both of these principles…so lets study and discover why these are lies in comparison with Jesus Christ and His gospel.

The Ten Commandments of Progressive Christianity

Adapted from Phillip Gulley’s book: If the Church were Christians: Rediscovering the Values of Jesus.

Each of the ten commandments can essentially be lumped into three categories:

Moralism

No judgements, love and care for others, be kind.

Focuses on Man instead of God.

Pragmatism

If it works, it must be true.

Downplays doctrine...for morality and what works.

Expressive Individualism

What is true is what you feel and being right means living out your true self and your desires.

They claim uncertainty…no one is wrong…but…ironically…they actually claim to be very certain of what they believe.

Let’s now take a closer look at these ten lies our culture is feeding us today...

Jesus is a Model for Living More than an Object for Worship.

Progressive Christians deny Jesus as Master and Lord.

He is not God and he did not want to be worshipped.

He instead gives us an example to live by and how to love others.

Similarity with the False teachers of Jude.

The half truth is we should follow Jesus’ example...

But we know that Jesus has not given us this option to simply call him a “good moral teacher,” only…rather, he claimed to be Lord and Jesus’ followers worshipped him as such.

C.S. Lewis-Lunitic, Liar, Lord

Jesus’ Followers Worshipped Him as Lord..and he did not deny this worship.

Matthew 2:11 -Magi worship Jesus

Matthew 14:33- The Disciples worship Jesus

Jesus’ moral example is only binding if he is Lord.

Why should we follow the example of Jesus if he is just a man?

Christianity is not about Moralism

Religion of grace vs. Religion of Merit

Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

What God has joined together, let no man tear apart.

One cannot separate the person of Jesus from the teachings of Jesus.

Affirming People’s Potential Is More Important Than Reminding Them of Their Brokenness.

Half-Truth: as humans made in God’s image, we do have dignity, value and worth, and have potential to do great things...

However, the problem we have is that we are utterly broken because of sin.

Progressive Christians only take the former and drop the latter.

They reject the Bible’s teaching on sin

Do not see the Bible as God’s word and our source of authority.

Claim Adam and Eve and Original sin are just “myths” and cannot be trusted due to their contradictions to science and inconsistencies.

They pervert the grace of God...they call good evil and evil good.

Rejecting the Biblical definition of sin leads to rejecting the saving work of Jesus.

If we are not dead in our sin than we do not need a savior…

Rejects penal substitutionary atonement

“divine child abuse.”

Separate God’s justice from his love

If we reject sin and the Christ’s work on the cross to save us from our sin…what we are left with cannot be called “Christianity.”

The Work of Reconciliation Should be Valued over Making Judgements.

Half-Truth: As Christians, we should always seek peace and reconciliation with others....but this does not mean we should never make judgements.

Progressives focus less on how we relate to God and more on how we relate to other humans.

Judge not, lest you too be judged (Matthew 7:1).

God will never judge us, but he is loving and gracious and will forgive us in the end.

“Who are you to judge me when you are not perfect yourself?”

Deny judgement in hell, preach universalism.

They pervert the grace of God, they call good evil and evil good.

To Say We can never declare a behavior to be wrong is unbiblical.

Matthew 18:15 ““If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.”

Matthew 7:3-6 shows that Jesus condemned hypocritical judging.

The basis for calling something sinful is not personal perfection, but simply whether God regards it as sinful.

To say we can never make judgements is self-defeating.

It is a judgement in itself to tell people they should not judge.

Why do people not get made when we give people compliments? Those are judgements too.

Non-Judgement reconciliation is false reconciliation.

People can only be reconciled when the sin or offense is acknowledged, owned, and repented of.

Gracious Behavior Is More Important Than Right Belief.

Half-Truth: we need to make sure we are gracious in our behavior…but this is not separated from right belief.

Progressives claim that doctrine and theology are divisive, what matters is how loving and kind we are to others.

If one lives right, than their religion and beliefs must be true-pragmatism.

They often use the pharisees as an example.

But the issue with the pharisees was not because they had too much theology but their theology was twisted.

Theology and actions should not be separated, this is a false dilemma.

Instead, the Bible teaches that right belief leads to gracious behavior.

Romans 6:10-14 “For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

This statement also contradicts itself…for one must BELIEVE that it is right to be more gracious than to have right belief…so it seems WHAT ONE BELIEVES is more important after all.

Inviting Questions Is More Valuable Than Supplying Answers

Half-Truth: it is important to ask questions...and in the church, we should welcome questions, doubt, and skepticism. Remember Jude said have mercy on those who doubt (vs 22).

However, Progressive Christianity says we can never be certain about anything…and to do so would be prideful and arrogant.

We don’t know everything and our understanding can be flawed due to sin....but God does know everything.

If He has revealed it in his word, than we can know it to be true.

Our source of truth is God’s word

John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

Plus, Progressives are just as dogmatic about what they know as Christians are…

Again, this commandment is self-defeating.

Encouraging The Personal Search Is More Important Than Group Uniformity.

Expressive Individualism

“me and Jesus”-dont need the church.

Christianity is more than just a “personal spiritual journey”

The progressive’s narrative is about “using religion to find God,” but the Biblical narrative is about God revealing himself to us to find us and save us.

We are not trying to get to God…we can’t because of our sin…instead it is God who has already completed the journey by coming to us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus taught the importance of the church, he died for the church, he taught church discipline.

One cannot separate Christ from his body.

Meeting Actual Needs Is More Important Than Maintaining Institutions.

Peacemaking Is More Important than Power (Authority)

They like Jesus but not the church

The Church is not perfect.

hypocrisy, embezzlement, sexual scandals.

Authority is mishandled by power hungry people.

abuse happens and has happened in the past.

The Church is still the bride of Christ.

There is a difference between someone having authority and authoritarianism.

This goes back to judging…someone is not just wanting to be “in command” when they uphold sound doctrine by not allowing certain practices or teachings…rather, they are shepherding the flock.

The Purpose of the Church

Not merely Horizontal actions and love to others but also vertical love and worship to God.

People reject the church because they have a misunderstanding of what the purpose of the church is.

Purpose of the Church

Worship/Glorify God-Love God with all your heart

Ministry/Service-Love your neighbor as yourself

Evangelism-Go and make disciples

Fellowship-baptize them

Discipleship-teach them to obey

Genuine horizontal love to others stems from true vertical love from God to us and from us to him.

The Church is not just a United Way or YMCA

We Should Care More about Love and Less about Sex

The irony with this is progressives demand moral living but deem sexual pleasure should be enjoyed no matter what context or who it is with.

They set the moral standard and demand we accept their morals or we are haters and bigots.

Like the false teachers in Jude, the live out their sexual desires in sensuality and pervert the grace of God.

Progressives have a strategy to show why its ok to “do what feels right” and to be free to “love whomever you want to.”

Step 1: Tout the Moral Virtues of Those in Sexual Sin.

“But they are so nice and kind and loving.”

Don’t base judgements on how you feel but if it conflicts with God’s character.

Step 2: Insist That God Has Bigger Things To Worry About

Downplay God’s holiness....he just wants us to be happy. As long as we are not “hurting someone,” its fine.

Step 3: Show that disputed sexual behavior leads to good results.

“it must be good/ok if it leads to something good.”

Living together is cheaper.

Getting married gives us a tax break.

I am finally so happy.

Step 4: Portray those who are against certain sexual behaviors as Mean-spirited and cruel.

Everyone loves to hate a villan.

Step 5: Insist Jesus Is On Your Side

“Jesus was more gracious to sinners than to legalists.”

Life in this world is more important than the afterlife.

YOLO

Prioritizing the Horizontal over the Vertical

False dilemma.

Preaching Moralism Not Salvation

Claiming uncertainty while espousing certainty

Michael Kruger sums up this last commandment in this way: “So we see in this last commandment how Gully masterfully encapsulates three hallmarks of progressive Christianity. It focuses on man instead of God, downplays doctrine for morality, and claims uncertainty while all the while being very, very certain of itself.”

What will it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul for eternity? (Matthew 16:26).

Names of progressive Christians that you need to stay away from today:

Richard Rhor- Universal Christ

Glennon Doyle- “sin is no longer what is wrong with the world but unmet ambitions.” “Eve is not a warning but an example, we should fulfill our desires and eat the fruit.” Left husband to be with Abby Wambach.

Rob Bell

Brian McClaren

Illustration of Hiroo Onoda fighting for 30 years after WW2.

Would not give up and be convinced the war had ended until his commanding officer came and told him.

He continued to contend and fight the war faithfully following the commands of his general.

Has our commanding officer sounded the retreat??